Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust, the county’s largest locally-based environmental charity has appointed Dr Rob Lambert from the University of Nottingham as an Honorary Vice-President.

The charity, which cares for over 60 nature reserves across the county and stands up for wildlife within the planning system, hopes the appointment of environmental historian Dr Rob Lambert, based in both the School of History and Nottingham University Business School (NUBS), will help build on an established relationship with the University that stretches back to the 1960s.

Speaking about the appointment Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust’s Chief Executive Rob Fitzsimons said: “Rob is passionate about the natural world and a long-time advocate for the work of The Wildlife Trusts. We are delighted to appoint him as a Vice President and we hope that in his new role he will be able to help us build on a long history of working with the University of Nottingham and to help us make our work more accessible to young people; something we know Rob is passionate about”.

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The Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust was established in 1963 on the back of the fight to save the wildlife of what is now Attenborough Nature Reserve and staff from the University played a prominent role in the campaign to save the site and its early management. The Trust has maintained close links with the University over the years and the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Nottingham holds the ceremonial role of Vice-President with the Trust.

Dr Lambert has been Vice President of the Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust and an Ambassador for the Wildlife Trusts movement across the UK in their centenary year of 2012. He co-founded A Focus on Nature (AFON), the network of young conservationists in Britain.

Rob is a multi-disciplinary environment academic at the University of Nottingham and has published widely in both academia and the popular press; alongside being a seasoned environmental broadcaster contributing to many recent BBC TV and Radio documentaries including Birds Britannia; Making Scotland’sLandscape; When Britain Went Wild; Springwatch Extra and Britain’s Big Wildlife Revival. Rob was runner-up in ‘Celebrity Wild Brain of Britain’ in 2011 and 2012.

Rob is a keen British birder and naturalist, with around 30 years of field experience, and is passionate about showing people wildlife.

Speaking about his appointment Dr Lambert said: “I am delighted and proud to take on this exciting challenge of linking the student body in all its diversity to Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust. I am a huge advocate for the role and impact of the Wildlife Trusts, both locally and nationally. They excel at connecting people to nature in the places where they live and work.

"There is a responsibility inherent in this role in reinvigorating a relationship between the University and the Trust that goes back half a century, alongside a dynamic ambition of forging new relationships and networks, to the benefit of all in the county”.

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Notes to editors: The University of Nottingham has 43,000 students and is ‘the nearest Britain has to a truly global university, with a “distinct” approach to internationalisation, which rests on those full-scale campuses in China and Malaysia, as well as a large presence in its home city.’ (Times Good University Guide 2016). It is also one of the most popular universities in the UK among graduate employers and was named University of the Year for Graduate Employment in the 2017 The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide. It is ranked in the world’s top 75 by the QS World University Rankings 2015/16, and 8th in the UK for research power according to the Research Excellence Framework 2014. It has been voted the world’s greenest campus for four years running, according to Greenmetrics Ranking of World Universities.